Lawyer linked to missing S$33 million arrested, charged with cheating
Managing director of JLC Advisors Jeffrey Ong. (Photo: JLC Advisors' website)
SINGAPORE: A lawyer who allegedly went missing along with S$33 million from engineering firm Allied Technologies has been arrested and charged.
Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, 41, managing director at law firm JLC Advisors LLP, was charged in court on Saturday (Jun 1) with one count of cheating.
According to his charge sheet, he is accused of deceiving CCJ Investments Limited into believing that it had entered into a loan agreement with Suite Development, when there was no such arrangement.
By this deception, Ong allegedly induced CCJ Investments Limited to disburse a sum of S$6 million.
Of this sum, about S$3.3 million was allegedly used to refinance Suite Development's mortgage loan, and about S$2.7 million was purportedly deposited into the client account of JLC Advisors LLP.
A police report was filed on May 21 and Ong fled Singapore before investigations began.
The Singapore police said in response to queries that Ong was arrested with the cooperation and assistance of the Royal Malaysia Police. He was brought back to Singapore on May 30.
The Malaysian police said on Friday that Ong was arrested on May 29.
Ong made headlines last month after engineering firm Allied Technologies filed a police report over an unauthorised payout of S$33 million from its escrow account - an account where funds are held while two or more parties complete a transaction.
READ: CAD raids Allied Tech, interviews executive director over missing S$33 million
READ: Law Society takes control of law firm's funds after S$33 million and lawyer go missing
The account was held by Ong's firm, JLC Advisors, and Ong is accused of authorising the payout before going missing, according to Allied Tech.
After Allied Tech confirmed the news in a Singapore Exchange filing on May 23, the Law Society issued a notice of intervention into JLC's client accounts and later took over control of funds held by JLC.
Ong, who is in remand, faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine if found guilty of cheating.
